Tag Archives: Aaron Craft

Outlook on 2013-2014 basketball season

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As an adamant fan of the Buckeyes, I’m still extremely upset at the loss to Wichita State. In order to cope with this loss and utter depression, I decided to stop grieving and look ahead to the next season.

First things first, let’s talk Deshaun Thomas. Thomas has decided to forego his senior year and make the jump to the NBA Draft. Buckeye fans everywhere will say that this is such a huge blow to the team and that losing Thomas is a detrimental loss. My opinion? So what?

Yes, Thomas was the B1G Ten’s leading scorer, and yes he was consistent in the half court offense and able to knock down threes. That will be missed, you’re right. Let’s not forget about Thomas’s many, MANY, downsides.

Let’s discuss his lack of interest on defense. Ohio State was consistently one of the best defensive teams in the country this year, led by Aaron Craft, one of the best defenders in the country.

Let’s also discuss his horrific, horrendous, horrible (insert another word that starts with ‘Horr’ here) shot selection. Thomas took down right ignorant shots in his time as a Buckeye. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge advocate for “take shots to make shots” and ” the only way out of a shooting slump is to keep shooting,” but there comes a time when you have to realize you’re just struggling.

You might respond to that with, “well if Thomas isn’t scoring who will? It sure isn’t Aaron Craft!” My response to that, you’re damn right it won’t be Aaron Craft.

LaQuinton Ross and Shannon Scott came into their own in their sophomore years, and I honestly can’t wait to see what they can do next year with more practice and experience. Were they a bit streaky? Yes. Inconsistent? Hell yes. Will they improve and be leaders on an experienced team next year? Double hell yes.

Next on the list is the low post, the only area I’m worried about for Ohio State. Losing Evan Ravenel will be a bigger deal than most people think. Now, Amir Williams will have to find a time machine and figure out how to perform like he did when he was a McDonald’s All-American, because he sure as hell isn’t playing like one these days.

Williams missed easy shots from the paint, committed stupid fouls, and got beat on the low block way more often than he should have. If the Buckeye’s are going to be successful, he’s going to need to step up and play like Buckeye fans everywhere had originally hoped.

All in all, I’m confident in the Buckeye’s next year. Coach Thad Matta recruits like a mad man, and will get the right players to fill the right positions. With Ross and Scott returning, alongside team leader Craft, it’ll be a good year to be a Buckeye in 2013.

Bye and Share of B1G Ten Title on the Line in Buckeyes’ Final Week

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Just like last year, the Buckeyes have the ability to earn a share of the B1G Ten Title. But it won’t be easy.

Ohio State needs to win Tuesday at Assembly Hall against Indiana and then again at home against Illinois next Sunday. But wait, there’s more!

The Buckeyes also need Indiana to lose their final game, not to mention at least one loss from Michigan State and Wisconsin. Simple enough, right?

Not so much. Tuesday night is Indiana’s senior night; as if Assembly Hall needs a reason to be more amped up.

Regardless of what happens, Ohio State will still finish in the top 5 of the best conference in college basketball this season. Currently ranked 16th overall, the Buckeyes are looking at, roughly, a 4 or even 5 seed in the national tournament (depending on how good or bad they play in the B1G Ten tournament).

Even though the Buckeyes don’t really control their own destiny, the way the team has played recently should keep fans positive about the upcoming post season.

Shannon Scott has earned a significant amount of playing time, and the team has greatly benefited, especially on the defensive end. Aaron Craft has compiled a 4-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last 3 games, and has started to come into his own on the offensive end.

With Craft taking care of the basketball and Scott locking down opponents on defense, Ohio State is an increasingly better team than on most nights, making then a dangerous force to be reckoned with come tournament time.

Buckeye Honors

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Even though it’s been a rough season for the Buckeyes, it’s still been one for the record books for the Junior duo of Deshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft. Both players played in their 100th career game as a Buckeye in last weeks’ victory against Northwestern.

In their 100 games on the court, the Buckeyes are a stellar 83-17 overall, with a 36-11 record in Big Ten play.

As far as individual success is concerned, both Craft and Thomas are making their way into the Big Ten and Ohio State record books, respectively.

Craft is currently 13 steals shy of moving to the Top 7 in all-time steals in Big Ten history. With 219 steals under his belt already, he is currently 8th behind Dee Brown (Illinois, 2003-2006).

With 6 more rebounds, Thomas will be the 24th player in Ohio State history to score 1,000 points and pull down 500 rebounds in a career as a Buckeye. With his 18 point performance last week against Wisconsin, Thomas also became the 18th player in Buckeye history to score 500 points in a season multiple times (2).

 

Aaron’s Expectations

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At 13th in the country, with a 7-4 record in the B1G Ten, it’s clear to see that Ohio State is under-performing this season. Coming into the season, there was a lot of hype surrounding the return of Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas.

On Wednesday, Craft was interviewed with Head Coach Thad Matta about the focus of the rest of the season and the expectations for Ohio State basketball.

 

 

Really B1G Ten

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If you had told me before the season that Ohio State, at this point, would be 17-6 and ranked 13th in the country, I’d have a heart attack from laughing so hard.

There’s no possible way this team could be a whopping 7-4 in the B1G Ten! With Aaron Craft’s lock-down defense and Deshaun Thomas’ knock-down shooting, the Buckeye’s should be the no. 1 team in the country!

But nobody, including me, saw what the B1G Ten conference was going to be like.

At this point, forget Ohio State. Had you told me that there would be five teams in the Top 25 (1 Indiana, 4 Michigan, 8 Michigan State, 13 Ohio State, 20 Wisconsin) with Minnesota, yes, MINNESOTA, getting votes to be in the Top 25, I would have…honestly…I don’t know what I would’ve done.

The conference has never, EVER been this good before! The Big East was this good in its prime (R.I.P.) and the ACC was amazing when North Carolina used to be a legitimate program (key words: used to). But the B1G Ten? Never.

This is what’s so great about college basketball. The fact that any team, no matter how big, or how well known, can go out and make a run and compete with anybody. Anytime. Anywhere.

It sucks that B1G Ten teams are going to continue to beat each other up, it really does. But, come tournament time, we’re all in for quite a treat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ4K2I8eC8Y

Ohio State-Michigan, Round 2

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Tuesday night the Buckeyes take on rival Michigan for the second time this season.

In their first match-up, the Buckeyes knocked off the undefeated Wolverines at home.

Seth Greenberg goes to the game tape and does a great job breaking down the game, check out the video here!

After losing to Indiana on Saturday, you can bet that Michigan will be ready for get back on the right track on Tuesday night. As if playing another top ten team wasn’t enough motivation, the fact that Michigan has the opportunity to get revenge on the rival Buckeyes makes this game even bigger for Ohio State.

The backcourt match-up between Michigan’s Trey Burke and Ohio State’s Aaron Craft might be the most exciting one-on-one battle you see all year. Burke’s offensive explosion and Craft’s dominate defense are enough to make any true college basketball fan excited for the game, let alone its the third versus the tenth best team in the nation.

If Craft can keep tabs on Burke, and Ohio State Forward Deshaun Thomas can knock down jumpers early, the Buckeyes have a good shot at knocking off The State Up North for a second time this season.

Buckeyes tame Nittany Lions with 65-51 victory

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When you hold the Big Ten’s leading scorer to 11 points, chances are you’re going to be in the game. The only exception: Penn State on Saturday against Ohio State.

The Nittany Lion’s defense held Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas to a dismal performance on offense (11 points, 4-13 shooting), but couldn’t find an answer for the Buckeyes’ 6-7 sophomore Forward Sam Thompson.

Thompson led the game in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, as the Buckeyes took advantage of the Nittany Lions slumping offense.

Jermaine Marshall of Penn State matched Thompson’s 16 point effort as the Nittany Lions lost their eighth straight Big Ten match up, falling to 8-12 on the season. Penn State didn’t fold in the match up, but clutch foul shooting from Lenzelle Smith Jr. (5-6 in the last five minutes) kept the game in favor of Ohio State (15-4, 5-2).

Normally, being ranked 11th in the country would be seen as a success to most programs. It’s safe to say that after watching games like this, the Buckeyes have clearly underperformed thus far in the season. Yes, they did beat Michigan when they were the second ranked team, but let’s not forget the fact that they blew a 20 point lead.

Aaron Craft is having another standout defensive year, but the main problem with the Buckeyes continues to be finding that consistent scorer. Last year, it was easy for Thomas to go on shooting rampages with Jared Sullinger being double teamed on a nightly basis. Now, being the main scorer and threat, Thomas is drawing the defensive pressure, forcing players such as Craft and freshman Shannon Scott to move into more important scoring roles.

Until Coach Thad Matta finds that piece to the offense, the Buckeyes will continue to struggle through victories. You better believe that if this team shows up during tournament time in March, it’ll be a slow dance for the Buckeyes.